Improvement in washing and wringing machine



I UNITED j STATES V. S. SHOEMAKER, OF GREENWOOD l?. O., MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN WASHING AND WRINGING MAC'HINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56.110, dated July 3,1866.

- to the accompanying drawings, making apart of this specification, inwhich- Figure l is an elevation of one side ot' my improved machine.Fig. 2.is a longitudinalsection taken in a vertical plane through the ycenter of the machine. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in avertical plane through the centers of the squeezing-rollers. Fig. 4 isan enlarged cross-section through the three rollers and their elasticapron.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalgures.

This invention relates to a novel machine which is adapted for. washingand wringing articles by compression between rollers.

The squeezing-rollers for combined washin g and wringingmachineshavehitherto been constructed of wooden or metallic cores covered withindia-rubber; but it has been found that the rubber will soon stretchand become loose upon the cores, so as to render the entire rolleruseless.

The object of my invention is to employ wooden or metal rollers withindia-rubber interposed between them; but instead of coniining therubber upon the rollers, as hitherto, I employ an endless india-rubberapron in conjunction with two squeezing-rollers, and keep this apron inplace by means of a stretchingroller, so that articles passed betweenthe squeezing-rollers will be subjected to elastic pressure and yieldingsurfaces, and when the belt or apron becomes loose or worn outit' can bereadily removed and another substituted, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

Another object of my invention is to employ al hinged shelf inconjunction with an elastic endless belt or apron, in such manner thatthis shelf can be made to conduct the articles from the wringing andwashing rollers out of the wash-tub after the wringing operation, aswill be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to, understand my invention, I willdescribe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Arepresents the wash-tub, which may bemade of any suitable capacity and shape. If it is made semicircular, asshown in the drawings, the two sides are grooved to receive the ends ofthe bottom pieces, which are tongued and grooved together, so as to formtight joints. The tub is secured together by means of transverse bolts,and mounted upon legs, as shown in Figs. l and 2.

B B' represent two rollers, which may be made of wood, metal, or otherhard substance, and which are arranged one above the other, so thattheir surfaces will touch. These rollers or cylinders have theirbearings in metal standards C G, which are bolted rigidly to the sidesofthe tub A. The lower roller may have. Xed bearings in said standards,but the upper roller, B', should have vits end bearings in blocks a a,that are fitted te work up and down in slots in the standards, and whichare held down by means of india-rubber blocks b b ,or other suitablesprings. These springs b b are designed to allow the upper roller, B',to rise and accommodate it to articles varying in size and to hold thisroller down by a yielding elastic pressure.

If desirable, adj usting-screws may be applied to the standards C Oabove the springs l) b, for the purpose of regulating their pressureupon the bearing-blocks a a of the upper roller. This upper roller maybe made of some hard wood having an iron shaft running through it, andit may he covered with a piece of canvas, or left uncovered.

D represents a small cylindrical roller,whieh, like the twosqueezing-rollers B B', may be made of wood or metal, and which has itsend bearings in the standards C G a little below a horizontal planepassing through the axis ot' the lower roller, B'.

Over the two rollers B' and D a thick indiarubber belt, Gr, isstretched, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 4. This belt or endless apronserves two very important obj ects, viz: It forms an elastic surface forthe roller B, and obviates the necessity of casting rubber around thisroller, as hitherto, and it also forms an apron, which serves,inconjunction with the hinged shelf G', to conduct the articles out ot'the tub after they have been washed and wrun g.

The shelf G' is hinged to the transverse bar c, and made of sufficientwidth to touch the edges of the standards, as shown in Fig. 2, and forman inclined plane for conducting the articles out of the tub. 1t is notintended that the edge of the shelf shall press upon the elastic belt G,for which purpose the metallic end pieces of this shelf project slightlybeyond the upper edge thereof, so as to rest against the edges of thestandards G C when the shelf is brought ina position to conduct off thearticles as they pass between the squeezing-rollers and over theinclined portion of the belt.

When it is not desired to use this shelf Gr' it is elevated7 as shown inFig. l, and held in this position. As the shelf is hinged to the rearend of the wash-tub, it will be found convenient to employ a lever, J,for adjusting this shelf, as shown in Figy l.

The two standards C C may be connected together by means of rods, so asto form a portable frame, or such a frame may be cast in one piece, withsuitable bearings for the three rollers B, B', and D, and also withsuitable clamps for securing the frame to a tub.

If desirable, an elastic belt, like G, may be applied to the upperroller, B', but I have found by experience that one elastic belt, whenmade of the required thickness, will answer a very good purpose.

Ifdesirable, the ends of the stretching-roller D mayhave their bearingsin adjustable blocks, so that in the event of the belt working loose itcan be tightened.

It will be seen from the above description that I secure all theadvantages of elasticity ofthe rollers, which have india-rubber surfacesformed on them by casting, and at the same time provide for removing theelastic covering from the rollers and supplying its place with newWhenever it is found necessary. I also employ a rubber belt which has alarger amount of surface than is presented by either one of thesqueezing-rollers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The hinged shelf, in combination with the wash-tub and the rollers,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The hand-lever J, in combination with the hinged shelf, rollers, andwash-tub, substan tially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of the two squeezingrollers B B', stretching-rollenD,rubber belt G, and hinged shelf G', substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

W. S. SHOEMAKER.

Witnesses:

MATTHEW MURRAY, E. B. S. SHOEMAKER.

